Course Descriptions

This course exposes students to a psychoanalytic way of understanding psychopathology and explores how mental illness is presented in media. Psychoanalytic theory related to neurotic, borderline, and psychotic disorders will be examined using case studies drawn from media with a specific focus on movies.

Weekly hours: 3 Seminar/Discussion hours
Prerequisite(s): PSY 222.3 or PSY 223.3; and 6 credit units of 300-level PSY classes.

Environmental psychology explores the interplay between people and their environment. It seeks to understand how environments impact us, how we can leverage that knowledge to our advantage, and how we might improve our relationship to the world around us. Students will learn about the interrelationships between ourselves and the environments in which we live, love, and work, with a focus on both theory and practical application. Specific topics addressed include: the history and scope of environmental psychology; theories of environment and behavior; designing built environments for human wellbeing; people’s relationship with animals and the natural environment; ecotherapies and animal therapies as emerging treatment paradigms; and behavioral change in relation to contemporary global environmental issues and issues of sustainability.

Weekly hours: 3 Lecture hours
Prerequisite(s): 12 credit units of 200-level psychology; and PSY 235.3 or HLST 210.3.
Note: Students with credit for PSY 311.3 will not receive credit for this course.

This course focuses on theoretical and empirical analyses of human development. A set of original research articles covering diverse areas of developmental psychology (e.g., behavioural genetics, development and psychopathology, cognitive development, social development, aging) will be assigned, read, and discussed by the class.

Weekly hours: 3 Seminar/Discussion hours
Prerequisite(s): 3 credit units 300-level PSY courses. Restricted to Honours students in Psychology and Health Studies, and majors in Linguistics.

The course invites students to examine how cultural interpretations interact with biology or psychophysiology and social interactions to produce distinctive forms of disability. It also offers students the opportunity to pursue an issue of interest to them and to share their discoveries, thoughts and questions regarding this issue with their classmates.

Weekly hours: 3 Seminar/Discussion hours
Prerequisite(s): 3 credit units of 300-level Psychology. Restricted to Honours students in Health Studies, Linguistics and Psychology.
Note: Students who took PSY 498.3 Disability, Discourses and Social Practices cannot take PSY 423 for credit.

This course gives students an in-depth knowledge of the social psychology of group dynamics and intergroup relations. Students will study important articles on this topic. They will also give in-class presentations on selected topic areas.

Weekly hours: 3 Seminar/Discussion hours
Prerequisite(s): 3 credit units of 300-level Psychology. Restricted to Honours students in Health Studies and Psychology.

This course examines social psychological phenomena internal to the individual, such as social cognition, motivation, emotion, the self, and attitudes and attitude change. It also considers issues associated with relations between individuals such as altruism, aggression, affiliation and social influence processes.

Weekly hours: 3 Seminar/Discussion hours
Prerequisite(s): 3 credit units of 300-level Psychology. Restricted to Honours students in Health Studies and Psychology.

This course examines sociocultural representations of sexual minorities (in particular, gay men and lesbian women) from the late 1950s to the present day. Students will examine critically the ways in which diverse media represent sexual minorities and how these representations have changed over time.

Weekly hours: 3 Lecture hours
Prerequisite(s): PSY 227; and 6 credit units of ANTH, PSY, SOC, or WGST courses at the 200-level or above; and permission of the department.
Note: Students with credit for PSY 498.3: Sexual Minority Issues in Social Psychology cannot take this course for credit.

This course surveys selected topics in neuroscience such as neuropsychopharmacology and the neural bases of memory, language, emotion, attention, consciousness, plasticity phenomena, and spatial abilities.

Weekly hours: 3 Seminar/Discussion hours
Prerequisite(s): 3 credit units from PSY 252.3, PSY 246.3, or PSY 242.3; and 3 credit units of 300-level Psychology. Restricted to Honours students in Health Studies and Psychology.

This course focuses on theoretical and experimental analyses of human perception, cognition, and performance. A set of original research articles covering diverse areas of cognitive science (e.g., basic perception, memory, language comprehension, human reasoning) will be assigned, read, and discussed by the class.

Weekly hours: 3 Seminar/Discussion hours
Prerequisite(s): 3 credit units from PSY 252.3, PSY 253.3, PSY 255.3; and 3 credit units of 300-level Psychology. Restricted to Honours students in Health Studies and Psychology, and majors in Linguistics.
Note: Students may take this course more than once for credit, provided the topic covered in each offering differs. Students must consult the Department to ensure that the topics covered are different.

Students will carry out a major project under the supervision of a faculty member, and report the project in the form of an honours thesis.

Weekly hours: 1 Lecture hours and 2 Practicum/Lab hours
Prerequisite(s): Students must be enrolled in the Honours program and must have completed at least one 3 credit unit 300-level PSY A course and one 3 credit unit 300-level PSY B course.
Note: To be admitted to an Honours program in Psychology, students must submit a completed letter of intent for the Honours thesis, indicating a potential faculty supervisor, by mid-May of their third program year to the Psychology Department office. In addition, students must submit an Honours application to the College of Arts and Science by May 31st.

Students will complete an honours thesis research project with a faculty member, on a topic that falls clearly within the Natural Sciences (see Catalogue under Psychology for a complete listing of the courses and areas of Psychology that are in Group 2: Natural Sciences).

Weekly hours: 1 Lecture hours and 2 Practicum/Lab hours
Prerequisite(s): Students must be enrolled in the Honours program and must have completed at least one 3 credit unit 300-level PSY A course and one 3 credit unit 300-level PSY B course.
Note: To be admitted to an Honours program in Psychology, students must submit a completed letter of intent for the Honours thesis, indicating a potential faculty supervisor, by mid-May of their third program year to the Psychology Department office. In addition, students must submit an Honours application to the College of Arts and Science by May 31st.

Offered occasionally by visiting faculty and in other special situations to cover, in depth, topics that are not thoroughly covered in regularly offered courses.

Weekly hours: 3 Seminar/Discussion hours

Offered occasionally by visiting faculty and in other special situations to cover, in depth, topics that are not thoroughly covered in regularly offered courses.

Weekly hours: 3 Seminar/Discussion hours